By R.L. Bynum
After rallying for a victory over Oklahoma, North Carolina stayed at No. 24 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll released on Monday.
The Tar Heels (8–4) pulled away from a game tied at halftime to earn a 61–52 victory over the Sooners on Tuesday in the Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.
Despite being sick for three days and throwing up during timeouts, senior guard Deja Kelly led UNC with 21 points and six rebounds in that game. Senior Alyssa Ustby (top photo) added 15 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
TCU (13–0) leapfroged Carolina, moving up from No. 25 to No. 23 after beating Omaha 96–56 and Mount St. Mary’s 87–34.
Washington, previously No. 23, fell out of the poll after 59–51 loss to Louisville (11–2), which stayed at No. 19.
The Oklahoma win ended the regular-season non-conference schedule for UNC, which got three of its four losses against teams ranked in the latest poll: No. 1 South Carolina (11–0), No. 11 Kansas State (12–1) and No. 15 UConn (9–3), the latter two each moving up two spots.
The Carolina team reconvenes in Chapel Hill after the Christmas break on Wednesday as the Tar Heels prepare for their ACC opener at noon Sunday against Clemson.
The Tigers (8–5, 1–0 ACC) have won two consecutive games after rolling to a 73–50 home victory Friday over East Tennessee State. Clemson won its ACC opener at home on Dec. 7, beating Duke 80–64.
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 3 N.C. State (12–0), which beat Old Dominion 78–50; No. 13 Notre Dame (9–1; up one spot), which beat Western Michigan 84–47; No. 14 Virginia Tech (9–2; up one spot), which beat William & Mary 67–43; and No. 22 Florida State (9–3; down one spot), which knocked off Alabama State 110–45.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (36 first-place votes) | 11-0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 11-0 | 861 | 2 |
| 3 | N.C. State | 12-0 | 802 | 3 |
| 4 | Iowa | 12-1 | 758 | 4 |
| 5 | Texas | 12-0 | 745 | 5 |
| 6 | Southern Cal | 10-0 | 685 | 6 |
| 7 | LSU | 12-1 | 676 | 7 |
| 8 | Colorado | 10-1 | 650 | 8 |
| 9 | Stanford | 10-1 | 614 | 9 |
| 10 | Baylor | 11-0 | 607 | 10 |
| 11 | Kansas State | 12-1 | 500 | 12 |
| 12 | Utah | 10-2 | 497 | 11 |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 9-1 | 473 | 14 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 9-2 | 395 | 15 |
| 15 | UConn | 9-3 | 393 | 16 |
| 16 | Indiana | 10-1 | 382 | 17 |
| 17 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 380 | 13 |
| 18 | Marquette | 12-0 | 305 | 18 |
| 19 | Louisville | 11-2 | 241 | 19 |
| 20 | Gonzaga | 13-2 | 215 | 20 |
| 21 | Creighton | 9-2 | 146 | 22 |
| 22 | Florida State | 9-3 | 136 | 21 |
| 23 | TCU | 13-0 | 73 | 25 |
| 24 | North Carolina | 8-4 | 58 | NR |
| 25 | West Virginia | 11-0 | 49 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Washington 43, Miami 38, UNLV 14, Texas A&M 12, Oregon St. 11, Minnesota 8, Michigan St. 7, Mississippi St. 6, Penn St. 5, Davidson 5, Washington St 4, Green Bay 3, Mississippi 2, Syracuse 1.
UNC season statistics
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 2 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 16 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Charleston Southern | ACCN Extra |
| 29 | Monday | 8 p.m. | at Boston College | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | Noon | vs. California | ACCN |
| 4 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Stanford | ESPN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Miami | ACCN Extra |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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